I am Muffy
by count-lucifer
Summary: CHAPTER 5 UP! After leaving home because of Ed's abuse, Muffy and her mother head to their new home...The Reids' house. How will everyone react to the newcomers?
1. Chapter 1:The big argument

_I am Muffy_

**Muffy's parents have been arguing a lot especially about her father's 'business'. Now Mrs Crosswire wants to move out and take Muffy with her. Will Muffy survive life in the real world and which unlucky family will take them in? Please R&R**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the characters in Arthur.

**Author's Note: **This may seem a bit similar to "Muffy goes poor" but it's not actually. This story looks at the ties that bind the families of Elwood city together as well showing the ups and downs of the Crosswire family (well mostly Muffy and her mother)

Enjoy! And please R&R – I would love to hear what you think of the story – it's a bit slow at the beginning – but I promise it will pick up the pace soon.

_Chapter 1 _– _The Big Argument_

Muffy stared out from her window in a delirious manner. Outside the rain was coming down hard and it seemed a reflection of the mood in her house. Of late, her parents had being arguing a lot – and not just minor arguments either. Muffy had never felt so alone before, even her newest toy – a limited edition Crazy Bus PSP couldn't console her.

She flipped through some Fendi catalogues to calm her mind – lately she'd been taking to retail therapy, and big fashion brands were her weakness. Of course, this made her father very proud ("You're acting like a true Crosswire honey – no dress under $1000 is good enough for you eh?"). As she glanced over the pages a lovely handbag caught her eye. "That will go _perfectly _with my gorgeous sailor costume!" she exclaimed. "DADDY! I want this purse!" she screamed loudly. She paused, expecting the footsteps to sound in the hallway but none came.

Muffy slowly got up – she was going to find daddy - now! Clutching the Fendi catalogue, she crept down the hallway, not knowing why she was so silent. Then, from the drawing room, voices rose up to meet her ears.

"How could you do this Ed? You have a responsibility to your family! Think of Muffy, sweet Muffy, your _daughter!_ Is this the kind of fatherly figure you want to represent?"

It was her mother, but she didn't sound mad – no, she sounded desperate, anguished and upset. Her father spoke, but his voice was much softer and Muffy had to strain against the door to hear his words.

"- but it was necessary honey. I did it for my little girl. Do you want to maintain this lifestyle of ours or not? It would break Muffy's heart to live like ordinary people, so I to do something – I couldn't just stand there and see our fortune go to tatters"

Ed Crosswire, pompous, arrogant and full of himself, was pleading – perhaps for the first time in his life. But as Muffy listened, she knew that her father was not being sincere – there was a edge to his voice that was dangerously sly and vicious. She slumped against the wall, not wanting to listen further, but she felt nailed to the spot.

Mrs Crosswire sobbed, "Ed, I can't believe you – I trusted you! I loved you! It's not a matter of lifestyle or upholding reputation – but _forgery _and, and _illegal supplying_. Ed, that just going too far… There is a limit and you passed it a long time ago…"

"But honey, that's just business – people lie and cheat all the time! How do you think I went from a poor, struggling nobody, to a rich, successful entrepreneur. It wasn't through luck or skill – just pure survival instincts." Mr Crosswire was getting mad now, Muffy could tell by his tone.

"No Ed, you've got children to think about. Besides - $150 million dollars is not just a tiny deal – it's big. Ed – that money was to be used to build a park and thanks to you, there'll just be another "Crosswire Motors Ltd" store. Besides if anyone ever finds out what you're doing, you'll be in for it, _big time!_"

Mr Crosswire swallowed, and then continued, but in a much more dangerous tone, "But no-one will ever find out… will they? You'd better not be planning on telling anyone honey, or I promise _Muffy's _life will not be worth living!"

Muffy stifled a shocked gasp. "No!" she whispered, pushing the door open a fragment, to peer inside. Her mother was staggering backwards, clutching a candlestick holder, waving it in front of her, like a weapon.

"Stay away Ed! Keep away from Muffy - what has she ever done to you?" she shrieked hysterically. "I can't take this anymore. I- " she broke away, noticing Muffy peering through the door. She gave out a shudder and collapsed.

Ed hadn't noticed Muffy yet, and he didn't even bother to hasten to his wife's side to see if she was alright. He just stood there, smoothing his chin, saying out loud, "Now a divorce would simply not do – no one in Elwood city has had one for ages…aside from Bixie Baxter – but she doesn't count because she's got no blue blood in her for yonks. A separation would still be too scandalous and our reputation would be gone… I really don't know what to do"

Muffy decided it was safe to enter. "Mommy!" she cried, "Are you all right?"

Ed Crosswire woke from his revere and looked at Muffy in an annoyed manner. "Of course she's alright – she's just not feeling too well. Where did you come from? Have you been listening to our conversation?"

"N-No," stammered Muffy, "I just came down the hallway just then, to show you this Fendi handbag. Will you buy it for me?" Her unshakeable poise was slowly returning.

"No!" snapped Ed irritably. Muffy's eyes filled with tears and she started to simper.

"Did I say no?" said Ed "I meant, absolutely. Daddy will have it for you by tomorrow"

"I want it today!"

"Daddy is a bit busy, honeykins, he can't do it today" Ed's voice was filled with warning and Muffy knew to back off.

All of a sudden there was a stir from the floor – Mummy was coming back to consciousness.

Mrs Crosswire picked herself up and without looking at either one of them, stalked out of the room.

Muffy motioned to run after, but her father caught her arm. "Leave your mother alone – she's a bit crazy".

Muffy wanted to argue and say 'My mother is NOT crazy!" but she bit her lip and nodded to her father. He shot her a grateful smile and took out his mobile phone to ring a colleague "Darn! The phone lines are still down" he exclaimed. "I'm in my office if you need me" he added, leaving the drawing room.

Feeling a bit sick, Muffy left too. She desperately wanted to call Francine – or anyone and tell them about this, but the storm outside was still raging fiercely. She knew that she was way too mature for an 8 yr old. "Oh well" she sighed. "At least I've seen these sorts of things on the OC and I know how to deal with them."

But somewhere inside Muffy, she felt as though Mummy and Daddy's fighting was her fault and this made her feel sad.


	2. Chapter 2: Leaving Home

_I am Muffy_

**Muffy's parents have been arguing a lot especially about her father's 'business'. Now Mrs Crosswire wants to move out and take Muffy with her. Will Muffy survive life in the real world and which unlucky family will take them in? Please R&R**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the characters in Arthur.

**Author's Note: **This may seem a bit similar to "Muffy goes poor" but it's not actually. This story looks at the ties that bind the families of Elwood city together as well showing the ups and downs of the Crosswire family (well mostly Muffy and her mother)

Enjoy! And please R&R – I would love to hear what you think of the story – it's a bit slow at the beginning – but I promise it will pick up the pace soon.

_Chapter 2_

Muffy went to her room and fell asleep on her four poster bed. She dreamt that a monster was attacking her parents. She cried out to save them but then the monster turned on her and _the monster had _Muffy's _face. _

"Muffy, Muffy…wake up sweetheart" – her mother was rousing her. Mrs Crosswire's face was tear stained and there were deep bags under her eyes. Her usually permed hair was lank and overall, she looked like a mess. "Mommy – what's happened to you?" whispered Muffy. Her mother reached out to hold her and Muffy noticed many hideous bruises on her mother's arms.

"Daddy did this" whispered Muffy, wiping tears away angrily.

Mrs Crosswire nodded chokingly. "I'm going to take you somewhere Muffy – we've got to get out of here with out making a sound. This is very important, OK honey?"

Muffy nodded solemnly, but inside she was secretly gleeful – this was just like a episode of the _Bold and the Beautiful_. 'I always knew my life would make a good soap opera' she thought.

Her mother lifted her out of bed and dressed her in some play clothes. "Mommy – you know I can't leave home in these clothes" protested Muffy, gesturing at her not so fashionable dungarees.

"Where we're going you won't need to look like an A-lister" soothed her mother.

"Where are we going?" questioned Muffy.

"I'm not sure yet, honey, but we have to get out of here."

Muffy followed her mother down a flight of stairs which lead to their famous garage that housed a collection of famous cars. Butler was polishing some of the cars.

"Excuse me, Gerald" said her mother politely. "I need a lift into town – the library perhaps"

"Without Mr Crosswire?" - Gerald was puzzled. Mrs Crosswire was usually the typical submissive house wife – she always followed her husband.

"Yes", Mrs Crosswire was firm in reply. "Muffy, hop into the Toyota"

"The Toyota? But mommy - what about our Lexus, our BMW, our Mercedes or our limousine?" Muffy was stunned – the Toyota was never used because it wasn't posh enough.

"Please listen to me Muffy" pleaded her mother, "I'll be back in a second. Follow me Butler"

She dashed up the stairs and just when Muffy was buckled in the car, she heard footsteps. Butler then followed by Mrs Crosswire, both clutching big suitcases, were being chased by Mr Crosswire. "Get back here now (insert Mrs Crosswire's name)! I mean this! Stop this nonsense now!" Mr Crosswire was bellowing loudly but his lithe wife was too quick for him. She and Butler placed the suitcases in the boot of the car and Butler pressed the 'Open Garage' button and just when Mr Crosswire leapt at the car, it was off.

Outside it was still storming and they sped down the tree line drive with Mr Crosswire sprinting after them at the rear, sopping wet." Wait!" he cried, "Muffy! Sweet heart, I love you! Get away from your crazy mother now!" but soon he ran out of breath and could not run any more. Muffy turned around and saw her father fading into the distance, his perfect suit soaked with rain and his face red with anger and exhaustion.

But somehow Muffy did not feel sad about her father, and as she turned back round, her mother's arm around her lovingly, she felt safe. Only one thing troubled her and that was leaving her magnificent palace behind, as Muffy was accustomed to only the best in lifestyle. She'd left all her best toys there and all she had was a suitcase of clothes and some books.

"Mummy?" she asked, "Will we be going back there?"

Her mother looked at her sweet upturned face and whispered, "I'm sick of hiding the truth from you honey, so I'm going to tell you: No we are never going back there – it's not safe anymore."


	3. Chapter 3: What now?

_I am Muffy_

**Muffy's parents have been arguing a lot especially about her father's 'business'. Now Mrs Crosswire wants to move out and take Muffy with her. Will Muffy survive life in the real world and which unlucky family will take them in? Please R&R**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the characters in Arthur.

**A/N: **This chapter has been revised so that Butler is more in character (thanks to

_Chapter 3_

Butler looked back at his precious cargo in the back seat – a mother and daughter fast asleep, curled in each others arms. "Mrs Crosswire? Miss Crosswire. We have at the library" said Butler stiffly.

Muffy's mother woke with a jolt – "So soon?"

"Well we really don't live far from the town centre" replied Butler politely. "I know it's not in my place to say this, but how exactly are you going to live in the library? It really doesn't provide the basic necessities."

Mrs Crosswire frowned – "No, it's not that. I just wanted to come here because it has a public phone booth. Ed had wired the phones at home so he could listen in on my conversations in case I split the beans on his 'business', so I couldn't call anyone one up to ask if we could stay at there house for a while until this whole business has blown over"

"So you might return to the Crosswire manor?" questioned Butler carefully.

"No, I just want to find a job so I might be able to pay for a rental place," replied Mrs Crosswire.

Butler couldn't help but chuckle – a Crosswire working for someone else? A Crosswire living in a rental property? Not something that was easy to picture, especially since Muffy's mother had never worked before – Ed was the bread earner at the Crosswire place.

"Well, I'll leave you then" Butler concluded. "Best of luck for the future"

He leant over and enveloped Muffy in a bear hug as she got out of the car. "Goodbye – though I mightn't see you again"

"Thanks so much Butler – but why'd you do this for us. Your loyalties should have lied with Ed. You risked so much to bring us here – he'll never take you back as a chauffeur," said Muffy's mother.

"Well…" Butler said uncomfortably, "There comes a time when one must take sides. It was no secret about the disgraceful way Mr Crosswire was treating you. As for my employment prospects…" Butler looked a bit ashamed. "I was thinking about a holiday – a very long holiday from which I won't be returning. He brandished a plane ticket. "I'm going to call a taxi for the airport" he said bowing respectfully. "It has been a pleasure serving you, Messes Crosswire"

"Bye bye Butler!" Muffy and her mother laughed with relief but Muffy was a bit worried – "Who will drive us now?" she asked.

"Well I did once do a drivers course before I married your father," said Mrs Crosswire, "But I might be a tad rusty – but first I have some phone calls to make"

She turned to Muffy. "Jane and David were always so sweet – I know that they of all people should welcome me with open arms to their house" she said, her eyes filled with old memories.

"Who are Jane and David?" Muffy was curious.

"Oh, whoops – you'd know them as Mr and Mrs Reed" said Mrs Crosswire.

"What – those strange nuts! I'm not staying with them – I heard a rumour Mr Reed was gay and I don't want him touching James" exclaimed Muffy indignantly.

"Muffy!" ejaculated Mrs Crosswire, "How dare you say those things about the Reeds – Arthur would be so disappointed with you. Besides, David is terribly sweet and a wonderful cook – better than Jasper even and I promise he won't touch James."

"And Arthur!" exclaimed Muffy with vigour, "How will I ever get along with that annoying young juvenile? And his sister D.W! Très unbearable! Why can't I stay at Francine's instead?"

"Sweet heart, Frannie lives in an apartment – there's no room for two more people in her house. It would be a terrible squish! Besides, your father doesn't really get along with them, so I'm not sure they'd want us there"

"Francine would! She's my best friend!" said Muffy with conviction, yet in her heart of hearts, she knew her mother spoke the truth. They would have to stay in Arthur's house until this was all over.

"But don't get me wrong, Mom" she warned, "I am not looking forward to living in a hut! The Reeds are like beggars compared to us!"

Her mother resisted the urge to roll her eyes – Muffy still had a long way to go before she could shake of her 'snob' tag.

James was Muffy's blanket; she was very attached to him and even thought he was part human

Jasper was the Crosswire cook.


	4. Chapter 4: The phone call

_I am Muffy_

**Muffy's parents have been arguing a lot especially about her father's 'business'. Now Mrs Crosswire wants to move out and take Muffy with her. Will Muffy survive life in the real world and which unlucky family will take them in? Please R&R**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the characters in Arthur.

_Chapter 4_

_Ring Ring, Ring Ring_

"Arthur – please pick up the phone! It's going to fall of the hook!" called Mrs Reed from the kitchen. She was washing the dishes – David was a great cook, but he still had to learn about 'cleaning up after oneself' part of the process.

"Mom – DW's stolen the remote! I'm only answering the phone if you tell her to give it back!" was Arthur's reply from the living room.

Mrs Reed rolled her eyes in frustration. 'Children!' she thought angrily. Dropping the dishes in the sink, she hurried to telephone, arms still covered in soap suds.

"Hello? May I know who's speaking?" she said, a little too forcefully, as she gingerly handled the phone

On the other side of the line Mrs Crosswire was a little put off, but she bounced back; "This Caroline Crosswire, Muffy's mother and your old high school friend."

"Oh Caroline! I'm so sorry about my abruptness – the kids were just driving me crazy! Hold on a sec, will you -?" Mrs Reed cupped the phone, and then yelled loudly to Arthur and DW, "If you two don't calm down right now, you will _both _not be able to watch TV for a whole month" – Instantly the noise subsided.

"Now where was I?" she continued, "Ah yes – it's lovely to hear from you again – and you're lucky that you got me just when the storm got over. All the phone lines are back! But how come your line still sounds a bit fuzzy? I would have thought the Crosswire line would be premium quality" she added bitterly.

There was an awkward pause, while Mrs Crosswire thought of how to phrase her 'slightly problematic situation'.

The words came out all in a rush - "I'm sorry, Jane – you see I'm calling from a public telephone booth because Ed and I have been having problems lately. You know; _more _then the usual husband and wife bickering? Anyways, the truth is that -", she lowered her voice here; "I don't feel that it's safe that Muffy and I should live with him anymore."

On the other end of the line, Mrs Reed was reeling from the shock of this admission. "But Caroline" she gasped, "You and Ed always seemed so happy"

"Maybe things aren't always as they seem" replied Caroline bitterly.

Mrs Reed took a deep breath and said, "Well in that case, wouldn't dd-, divor-, oh darn it! You know what I mean! Couldn't you settle this in the courts?"

Caroline shuddered, "You know Ed, Jane. He's always been headstrong since high-school. A divorce or even separation would cause too much bad publicity and probably tarnish his reputation forever. Besides, I'm afraid of what revenge he'd seek, if I took that course… Though what you say is true – there really is no other way around this."

Mrs Reed was silent for a while. "Caroline, I'm sorry – the decision is yours, and I know you're interested in the best for Muffy – but if you divorce Ed, then he'll have to give you half of his fortune, which should pay for everything."

"No!" Caroline's moan was soft yet sure. "At any rate the legal proceedings will probably take months to go through – Ed would see to that.

What I was calling about was: _Can you and David find it in your hearts to accommodate Muffy and I, until this drama is over?"_

There was a definite silence on Jane Reed's end of the line. She was a kind woman and she couldn't bring herself to refuse this poor distraught woman – whether her husband was a dominating tycoon or not.

"Well…" she said slowly. "We do have a spare bedroom for you, and Muffy could sleep on the floor in Arthur's room. But one problem is, there's probably not enough room for all of Muffy's, ahem, possessions (Blue Whale life-size replica included)."

Mrs Crosswire smiled and glanced at Muffy who was looking with her nose upturned at all the passers by. "I only had time to pack a suitcase of clothes and some precious memorabilia for both of us so you don't need to worry about storage. I've also taken $1000 from Ed's stash under the pillows, so we should be alright for food."

"Great!" Jane Reed tried to force some enthusiasm into her voice.

"You don't mind if I come right over now?" asked Caroline Crosswire anxiously. "I'm sorry to spring this upon you, but it really is urgent. I think Muffy needs to be gradually introduced into her new environment and the sooner the better."

Jane was a little taken back, "S-sure.." she stammered.

"Great! Well, I'll see you there!" replied Caroline.

Jane hung up the phone feeling a little dazed. _Did she seriously just allow two Crosswires to stay at her house for an infinite amount of time?_ She shook her head – was she going insane? There was no way the Crosswires were going to get along with her family – Caroline would not be that bad, but _Muffy!_ Jane had seen that child throw fits worse than DW! There was no way Muffy would be able to live in the Reeds' modest dwelling. Why hadn't Caroline gone and booked them into a luxury hotel?

One thing was good though – at least Ed wasn't coming too; he was unbearable and it didn't surprise her to hear that he'd been mistreating his wife. That man was no good!

**A/N: **It'll get more interesting from now on. It's funny though, because I'm no longer just writing from Muffy's perspective, even though the story's called "I am Muffy". I guess that's because the situation that's going to unfold is so rich in emotions I have to spread it among the characters in order to prevent an overload for Muffy. Also this story focuses a lot on the adults – unusual for an Arthur fanfic, but you'll see why soon…


	5. Chapter 5: Getting there

_I am Muffy_

**Muffy's parents have been arguing a lot especially about her father's 'business'. Now Mrs Crosswire wants to move out and take Muffy with her. Will Muffy survive life in the real world and which unlucky family will take them in? Please R&R**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the characters in Arthur.

_Chapter 5_

Caroline Crosswire turned to her daughter Muffy. "Guess what honey?" she said excitedly.

"What?" said Muffy, in a bored tone of voice. All of this talking was getting tedious; it didn't happen like this on 'The bold and the Beautiful'. There should have been a kidnapping by now, to liven things up. "No wait!" she said more excitedly, "Dad's had a heart attack and passed away and we've inherited the house and all the money and we can go back?"- It came out in a rush.

Mrs Crosswire shook her head slowly, and Muffy felt all the hope and excitement drain out of her. "It's not that is it?" she said dully. "They said yes, didn't they?"

Mrs Crosswire nodded and Muffy felt a bit miffed.

Secretly, she had been hoping that the Reids would say "No!" and that she would be able to live with Francine's family.

"Muffy dearest? Please get into the car again – we're going to the Reids' house" said Mrs Crosswire sweetly.

Muffy looked up, an incredulous look on her face. "You seriously mean that you're going to drive that thing?" Muffy gestured to the Toyota. "Though I guess it wouldn't be much of a loss if you crashed it…:" she added.

Mrs Crosswire assumed a I'm-your-mother-listen-to-me face. "Listen Muffy, I could have always asked Mr or Mrs Reid to pick us up, but they have enough troubles as it is. Besides, what would we do with the Toyota? I'm going to need it to drive around the place, and they couldn't possibly tow it behind them."

"Yes…" whinged Muffy, "But…Aha! You don't have a license! It's illegal to drive that thing without a driver's licence!"

Mrs Crosswire looked a bit worried at first but then she said, "How hard could it be? The Reeds house is only a couple of blocks away from here anyways"

And so it came to be that Mrs Caroline Crosswire tore down the streets of Elwood city in her Toyota, with a shrieking Muffy in tow. They must have broken at least 5 traffic rules: going through red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road, not driving _on _the road (unless of course, the footpath was considered part of the road), speeding (which is very easy to do when you can't remember which pedal is the brake) and several other misfortunate incidents which would have been against the law if they existed.

Meanwhile at the Reid household, Jane Reid was cleaning everything in a frenzy. "The Crosswires are coming to stay, the Crosswires are coming to stay…" she muttered under her breath like a mantra, picking up Baby Kate and giving her head and face a good dusting. ("Achoo!")

"Honey is something wrong?" Mr Reid walked into the living room coated with a fine layer of mud and dirt; prompting Mrs Reid to instantly run over and gave him a good dusting. "Small accident involving me falling in the hole I was digging…" muttered Mr Reid embarrassedly.

"Muffy and Caroline Crosswire are coming over!" cried Mrs Reid, "They're on their way here David! What am I going to do?"

"Caroline Crosswire…" Several emotions chased their way across David's face; apprehension, nervousness and something else… Mrs Reid wasn't sure what it was but it definitely irked her for some reason. She thought back to her high school days….

Caroline Crosswire (a la Windler) was the 'it' girl at school; she was sweet, very pretty, slim, a Cheerleader, three time Prom Queen and head of the social committee. She was also the daughter of the town mayor and was very rich.

Jane Reid on the other hand was not a nerd, yet not popular – just comfortably in-between – your typical girl-next-door.. Her best friend Bixie Baxter was a bit of a gossip but she was harmless too. Problems arose however, because all of the boys were just _crazy_ after Caroline; three boys in particular.

One was Oliver Frensky, a good natured jock who had the strangest fondness for garbage. He wasn't terribly good looking but Jane got along with him well.

Next was Ed Crosswire, a puny, sly little nerd who enjoyed putting together broken parts of things to make things that looked good, but worked badly. By fifth grade, Ed had been supplying pot to all of the stoners in school and he was a cut throat dealer. He was also the heir to a car business "Crosswire Motors" and that made him very rich

Finally, the boy who Jane was besotted with: David Reid. David was Ed's best friend (though a _lot_ more scrupulous); a hard working studious boy who couldn't be called a 'nerd'; more like a "Cake Boy". David was one of those rare people who was perpetually optimistic and who didn't care what other people thought of him and this lead to him to commit what was considered "Social Suicide". David was the only boy to do a Culinary Cooking course and because of this, he was made fun of incessantly. However, this didn't deter Jane; she though he was the most swoon- worthy Aardvark she'd ever seen and she constantly tried to gain David's attentions.

David, however, was in love with Caroline Windler (Caroline's surname before she married Ed) – no, more like _obsessed _with her. He wrote her name all over his text books, he bought her flowers every Valentine's Day, and he even wrote poetry about her, which Mr Hetters (the History teacher at Elwood high) held up in class to David's great embarrassment. In general, as long as Caroline was around, Jane didn't stand a chance of gaining David's affections.

However Caroline was oblivious to the crushes these boys had on her; she had eyes only for one man; her boyfriend "The Baxter". The Baxter was the coolest, slickest, most handsome guy in the whole school and his floppy ears and sultry smile won the hearts of many girls (Bixie was beyond obsessed with him). However the Baxter was a bit of a player and he didn't like commitment, so no one expected Caroline to marry him or anything – it was just a high school fling.

But as these things tend to go, The Baxter dumped Caroline for a more adventurous relationship with Bixie Carter, who suited him more. There was of course the inevitable fact that The Baxter was a rabbit and Mrs Crosswire was a Monkey – no one in Elwood City ever married anyone from a different heritage background. Add to that, the fact that Caroline was rich and of a blue blood compared to The Baxter's middle class parents – things would never work out.

Upset and confused, Caroline sought refuge in the arms of Ed Crosswire (who had now filled out considerably and seemed very appealing because of his substantial wealth). They were soon engaged.

Realising now that he had no chance with Caroline, David opened his eyes to the other girls (primarily Jane) and discovered that the woman he truly loved had always been right there for him…

…or so Jane thought. Did David still harbour some of his feelings for Caroline? No…that was impossible. He had a family now and he always seemed so happy with her. She was just imagining things.

"Jane are you with me?" David was calling to her in his caring voice.

"Um… Yes, I was just reminiscing about the old days" said Jane carefully, not allowing her voice to betray any emotion. "I guess we're going to have to tell the kids – I'm really not sure how Arthur will react…"

David smiled, but then his voice faded – "Um honey?" he said slowly, "Business with catering hasn't been very good lately – for the fourth time in the past couple of months, I've reported a loss. I don't know if we'll be able to afford having the Crosswires over"

"Excellent!", Jane visibly brightened up, "I have a good excuse for not taking them in!"

"But think of the situation poor Caroline and Muffy are in – they need our help! Maybe we could organise some sort of a charity fair for them"

Mrs Reid had to forcibly contain a snort – "Charity? Since when have the Crosswires lost their pride? Since when did the Crosswires ever donate a cent to charity?"

But she also knew that it was mostly Ed who was unbearable – she couldn't impress his faults onto their family.

"OK, I'm sure we'll manage somehow" she sighed

"You are such a beautiful soul" smiled David giving his wife a hug and a kiss.

Meanwhile… "Mum! That's the fourth time we've driven past the Reid's house! Can't you work that brake?" cried Muffy in exasperation.

"I'm trying honey! But I keep pressing the accelerator instead of the brake!" Mrs Crosswire called back.

Finally, they stopped outside the Reid's home, and Muffy could have sworn she could have known every house in the street with her eyes closed – they had driven past them that many times!

"I want to press the bell!" said Muffy bossily.

_Ding Dong…Ding Dong._

Arthur opened the door, looking quite surprised. He stared at their suitcases and said "Hi Muffy. Are you going on a holiday or something?"

Mrs Crosswire looked puzzled, "But didn't your parents tell you…"

"Tell me what?" asked Arthur impatiently.

Just then Mr and Mrs Reid walked into the hallway, and they both stared at each other – _they'd forgotten to tell Arthur!_

**A/N: He he, that was a long chapter but I hope it was interesting. Things will definitely pick up from here.**


End file.
